Anyone else find Pirelli P-Zeros noisy?

[Manks]

I've done approaching 2k miles in my 991 now and on the motorway today I noticed a slight droning noise around the speed limit when coasting. It's running P-Zeros and I've got a sneaky suspicion that they are responsible.

The noise is only slight and it happens in a 10mph band. Above and below it seems less (but then wind noise increases with speed so it is possible that I'm just not hearing it).

I had P-Zero Rossos on my 997 and never noticed any noise, but then it was always a good deal noisier in the cabin than the 991.

Anyone else noticed anything similar?

[runner911]

Had a set of those on my Mk. 1 GT3.

The droning noise from the rear of the car was so bad that I thought a wheel bearing had failed.

Took the car to my local OPC in Exeter.

Wayne Blackhall ( top man ) advised that the tyres were responsible .

The bad news is that the noise gets even worse as the tyres wear down.

Changed for a set of Michelin Pilots.

Sorted.

[Manks]

runner911 said:

Had a set of those on my Mk. 1 GT3.

The droning noise from the rear of the car was so bad that I thought a wheel bearing had failed.

Took the car to my local OPC in Exeter.

Wayne Blackhall ( top man ) advised that the tyres were responsible .

The bad news is that the noise gets even worse as the tyres wear down.

Changed for a set of Michelin Pilots.

Sorted.

Yep, it's the back of the car the noise is coming from. Shame, because they are a good looking tyre and seem to handle pretty well in the dry.

[Rockster]

Manks said:

I've done approaching 2k miles in my 991 now and on the motorway today I noticed a slight droning noise around the speed limit when coasting. It's running P-Zeros and I've got a sneaky suspicion that they are responsible.

The noise is only slight and it happens in a 10mph band. Above and below it seems less (but then wind noise increases with speed so it is possible that I'm just not hearing it).

I had P-Zero Rossos on my 997 and never noticed any noise, but then it was always a good deal noisier in the cabin than the 991.

Anyone else noticed anything similar?

Based on my experience Pirelli tires are the noisiest but as they get older. New they do not seem to be any noisier than Michelin or Continental or Bridgestone tires.

Now my Turbo developed what proved to be noisy tires (front tires) on a recent road trip and I thought wheel bearing and had the car inspected at a dealer. The senior tech checked the car and diagnosed the noise as coming from the front tires. They were scuffing. After I heard this news I felt the tires (all 4) myself and I could feel the roughness/feathering of the scuffing.

The tech went on to say this scuffing arises from alignment, front toe in. I keep my cars aligned but what happened was I had bumped a low curb when I pulled into a motel parking lot late one night just a night or two before the noise appeared. This was enough to upset the alignment.

So you might consider having the car's alignment checked. BTW, new cars often come with a crummy alignment. I bought a new Cayman S and I could tell after just a few miles of driving -- I never bothered to drive the car before I bought it (but I inspected the heck out of the car) -- and took the car back and insisted upon an alignment. The service manager balked but I offered to pay for the alignment if he found the alignment ok. Up on the rack when the car and before I knew it the tech was adjusting the settings. The alignment was out and then some. The alignment was free, but it probably would have been anyhow since the car was just a few days in my possession.

(Generally, with new cars, unless the problem is a defective tire or bad suspension component, tire balance and alignment issues have a short (90 days in some cases) warranty period.)

After the Cayman S I bought a used Turbo and it was a CPO car too. I drove the car before I bought it and recognized a possibly alignment issue, but I drove the car a few days after I bought it just to be sure. Took it in and had it put right.

Sincerely,

Rockster.

[FisiP1]

V. noisy on my Mustang, but that could just be the car..

[Geneve]

Yes, on the 991.

It's not true of all P-Zeros, over the last 10 years. I've found some sizes better than other makes.

However, when I had a 991'S' on loan for a few days, I was expecting a quiet supple ride, but felt it wasn't significantly different to my Turbo S. I assumed it was the tyres - P-Zeros - and I think, if I was speccing a 991, then I'd like to try one on Michelins or Bridgestones first.

[spareparts]

The current/new P-Zeros are noisier than PS2s. But they offer better turn in with stiffer sidewalls. PZeros offer fractionally better grip in the dry.

I ran both PZeros and PS2s on the GTS at the Ring (a puncture forced me to run PZeros one day, then new PS2s the next day). I prefer the PS2s for normal road driving though- just a slightly more supple and forgiving tyre. On dry/track the PZeros are a more responsive tyre.

[SFO]

aren't 991s supposed to be running on new generation low resistance tyres?

[Manks]

spareparts said:

The current/new P-Zeros are noisier than PS2s. But they offer better turn in with stiffer sidewalls. PZeros offer fractionally better grip in the dry.

I ran both PZeros and PS2s on the GTS at the Ring (a puncture forced me to run PZeros one day, then new PS2s the next day). I prefer the PS2s for normal road driving though- just a slightly more supple and forgiving tyre. On dry/track the PZeros are a more responsive tyre.

Looks like I might be trying some PS2s when the P-Zeros wear out. Which won't be long with the amount I'm driving the car at the moment.

[SFO]

Manks said:

spareparts said:

The current/new P-Zeros are noisier than PS2s. But they offer better turn in with stiffer sidewalls. PZeros offer fractionally better grip in the dry.

I ran both PZeros and PS2s on the GTS at the Ring (a puncture forced me to run PZeros one day, then new PS2s the next day). I prefer the PS2s for normal road driving though- just a slightly more supple and forgiving tyre. On dry/track the PZeros are a more responsive tyre.

Looks like I might be trying some PS2s when the P-Zeros wear out. Which won't be long with the amount I'm driving the car at the moment.

hopefully the Michelin Pilot Super Sport will be N rated by the time you need replacement tyres

[Manks]

SFO said:

hopefully the Michelin Pilot Super Sport will be N rated by the time you need replacement tyres

What are the current choices for N rated 20s?

[SFO]

Manks said:

SFO said:

hopefully the Michelin Pilot Super Sport will be N rated by the time you need replacement tyres

What are the current choices for N rated 20s?

have only seen Pirelli P Zeros on 20". Goodyear's are used on 991 19" wheels, and some pics of the 981 on 19" wheels have shown Michelin to be in use.

No doubt other tyre brands will soon be N rated for for 20" wheels ...

[betternotbigger]

Manks said:

SFO said:

hopefully the Michelin Pilot Super Sport will be N rated by the time you need replacement tyres

What are the current choices for N rated 20s?

My understanding is that until you're in the third year of ownership you don't have to worry about N ratings from a warranty perspective. UK law requires that a manufacturer's warranty must not be contingent upon the nature and origin of replacement parts and consumables and the manufacturer must replace any faulty item except where the fault might be directly accounted for by the use of non-approved parts.

The third year warranty which is a separate insurance policy is another matter entirely. N-rated is mandatory.

Like many, I've fitted Michelin PSSs to my 7 month old GTS out of interest. And I'll fit the original Bridgestones back on at the 2 year mark when the PSSs should be due a change. After a week's use I can report they are extremely comfortable and on a par with PS2s for tyre noise. Better than Pirelli or Bridgestone in that respect. As for performance, they're not scrubbed in yet so I'll report back in a month.